Ocho Duro Parlay Hour (#ODPH) Podcast

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH podcast and 607TWS on Twitch (& in podcast form). For this edition, it’s the post Wrestlemania hangover but some other promotions have picked up some steam as of late. When the fans aren’t talking about Tony Khan and “BotGate”, All Elite Wrestling has had some moments that should be the talk of their promotion. Let’s dive in on those, shall we?

The biggest story fans should be talking about is the long overdue ascension of FTR in the AEW tag team ranks. No tag team in the business has been putting on absolute classic matches with the Young Bucks and Briscoes quite like Cash & Dax. Since debuting in AEW, they made a big splash early & had the “dream match” with the Young Bucks at Full Gear in November 2020. After that, they seemed to have become lost in a very large roster and almost an after thought. Sure, they were paired in MJF’s “Pinnacle” faction but what has really stood out from them during their time there? Other than defeating the Lucha Bros for the AAA titles, there’s very little highlights imo.

Fast forward to December 2021: after taking to social media to build their feud (the right way) with the Briscoes in Ring Of Honor (to the point of crashing the party at ROH Final Battle), FTR has finally gotten back to being the benchmark of tag team wrestling. Hardcore fans have known this for years but for casuals, it’s all about what has been done lately. Within a weeks time, They’ve been putting on incredible matches & winning against 2 of the best teams in the business.

Where do they go from here? Simple: Keep them in the spotlight and featured on AEW programming. For having one of the deepest tag divisions, FTR has a lot of suitors to start some storylines with (ReDRagon and Santana/Ortiz are top of my list). FTR has worked their way to the top by putting the work in. Now, it’s time to let them do what they do and remind fans on how GOOD tag team wrestling can be each week! #FTRFTW!

FTR isn’t the only ones making a big splash this week. Wheeler Yuta has now become a made man in a lot of fans’ eyes. Yuta defeated Josh Woods for the ROH Pure title and had an absolute star-making performance on AEW Rampage with a loss to Jon Moxley. Why he needed to bleed during that match idk. Maybe its a weird sign of initiation to the Blackpool Combat Club with Moxley, Bryan Danielson, & William Regal. There’s been an odd “Fight Club” feel to Yuta trying to join BCC. It’s similar to Jared Leto’s character trying to join Brad Pitt’s group from that movie.

Regardless of the influence, Yuta broke thru with that match. It was excellent & gave the young star a win in defeat. Since he’s been with AEW, Yuta is another talent lost in the shuffle. Paired with Best Friends is still something but never went anywhere. It finally looks like his time is now and he couldn’t be in better company. Hopefully when ROH gets rolling, Yuta can maintain that momentum with the Pure title. Give me Yuta v. Lee Moriarty asap for the belt!

Speaking of Ring Of Honor, it has been announced that Samoa Joe will be facing Minoru Suzuki on AEW Dynamite for the ROH TV Title. As mentioned on last week’s blog, Suzuki wasn’t going to be holding the belt long and Joe makes sense to take the belt from him.

Joe is a star to build the new ROH around and depending on what that will be, having him as TV champ works. Guessing we’re going to see him vs. CM Punk in the Owen Hart tourney finals for the belt as well. Nothing is certain for ROH until they get on TV but everyhting is up in the air with the Discovery Plus purchase of Warner Media. Until then, fans will have to wait and see how Joe’s time as TV champ all plays out. Don’t miss this match on Wednesday!

Major League Wrestling has announced a big show planned for the 2300 Arena: Kings of Colosseum 2022. In the main event, Richard Holliday challenges Hammerstone for the heavyweight championship. This should be a great match. For more info on this card, Check out MLW2300.com

Last bit of news for this week:

As heard on #607podcasts this week, Super B had a big match and WIN at Xcite Wrestling on Saturday Night. Post match, B called out Sean Carr for May 7th! Super B’s links are now in the Friends of the show section of ODPHpodcast.com. Make sure you’re following and don’t miss the match vs Carr on May 7th.

Unfortunately, Cerin Rahne suffered an injury during the Xcite show on Saturday night. If you are able to, support him by picking up some merch. Positive thoughts & energy for a speedy recovery #HopeDealer

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH podcast and 607TWS on Twitch! It’s currently Wrestlemania week in the world of Pro Wrestling but there are some other news topics to discuss that needs some light shined on them. Leading the way was arguably the event I had the most questions about going into. The event: Ring Of Honor’s “Supercard Of Honor”. ROH’s return after suspending operations after December 2021’s “Final Battle”, releasing talent from contracts and eventually Tony Khan of All Elite Wrestling swooping in to buy the company has been one many fans have been waiting to see how the next phase of ROH would be. Well, what did we get?

“Supercard of Honor” was a great wrestling card. The matches were excellent. Many new champions were crowned (we’ll get to that in a bit) and overall, a very solid return. The only “drawbacks” (imo) is that it is very clear ROH will be either a developmental brand or considered the “B” show to AEW. There were quite a few moments where AEW was heavily hyped throughout this show for continuing storylines on their programming. This felt like how AEW would crash Impact programming and put themselves over more than building up Impact’s brand. Granted, this is a different scenario with Khan owning both promotions but the message is still very clear. Fans will also have to be used to this message much like when ECW was brought back by WWE. It won’t be the same. It will be different, for better or worse. If you factored all that out, there’s much to like about this show.

It also gave fans the return of the one and only Samoa Joe. Joe, a legend in Ring Of Honor, with noteworthy stints in TNA/Impact Wrestling and WWE respectfully returned to close the show out. Joe, who was released by WWE, had fans buzzing on Friday night. It was also announced after the show that Joe had signed with All Elite Wrestling (another thing fans will have to get used to: anyone signed will be #AllElite). If Joe is 100% healthy, this is a big win for AEW/ROH. He will be the face of ROH if he stays there or will make an impact on AEW programming. Personally, ROH is the better fit. Joe unfortunately would get lost on the over-saturated AEW roster as it stands now. Sure, there are dream matches with CM Punk and Danielson to have but as recent additions have shown us, getting TV time with a new debut week after week is not easy.

If Joe can be used to build up the “B” show, this brand could be made into a Raw vs. Smackdown type competition. That should be the play here. With so many members of the roster, a draft to bands would make sense and Joe would be a top pick no matter which brand it was. Fully expecting some big moves from Joe now on the roster. It’s only a question of where is the best fit with the dream opponents.

Speaking of dream matches and opponents, fans FINALLY got what might be the current runner for Match of The Year: Briscoes vs. FTR for the ROH tag belts. The match lived up to the hype and easily stole the show. Even the Young Bucks crashing the post match to hype their long awaited rematch with FTR on Wednesday’s Dynamite didn’t defer how great this match was. The two best tag teams on the planet did a phenomenal job. Now the big question is: With the match being this good and fans waiting an immediate rematch, what’s the fallout now?

As of this typing, Khan has not signed the Briscoes (with rumor being AEW television execs. don’t want them due to past controversial tweets). If that rumor is true, then chances of a rematch in AEW/ROH will be next to impossible. The Briscoes will continue to tear up the indie scene but for a team just inducted into the ROH Hall Of Fame class to not be signed for past actions, but yet other current AEW roster members had past comments resurface and yet, they are still on the roster, even as former champions doesn’t add up. Just saying. Hopefully something can get worked out & fans get to see the Briscoes in an ROH ring again sooner than never.

Another moment that stood out: KAZE NI NARE! Minoru Suzuki captured the Ring Of Honor TV title! The NJPW legend winning over Rhett Titus was a complete surprise. This should lead to some fun match-ups for the title but one has to wonder how long this run will last? I don’t see Suzuki staying around long term in AEW so seeing who could be next in line for the belt is a wide open field. Maybe a Lee Moriarty? How bout Swerve Strickland? Even Sammy Guevara’s name has to be in that mix. Endless contenders.

ROH also had all their titles change hands during Supercard Of Honor to AEW talent (with exception to Suzuki and Jon Gresham who wasn’t not officially signed to my knowledge) . Wheeler Yuta won the Pure championship. Mercedes Martinez is the interm women’s champion. FTR are your current tag champs. Jonathan Gresham won the unification main event.. With all these new champions, there are many storyline to set up. It’s a great thing about starting a new promotion, but with one that holds the legacy of Ring Of Honor, will it live up to what’s been established or will it be something else completely? Only time will tell on that.

Last thing from Supercard of Honor: NINJA MACK made his ROH debut! Unfortunately, he ran into a returning Brian Cage but I was very happy to see him still on the show. Maybe one day, he’ll be signed there but until then, don’t miss what he’s doing on the indie scene. Absolutely crushing it right now!

Since we’re talking of people crushing it on the indies right now….there is NO ONE killing it more right now than “All Heart” Blake Christian. The ma literally did Imapct Wresting, NJPW, GCW and ROH in the course of ONE DAY! Currently, “All Heart” is your wrestler of the year & there is no debate. Do yourself a favor and catch up on his run since being released from WWE. No idea how they dropped the ball with him but DAMN! You talk of people betting on themselves and winning? Look no further! If Tony Khan is smart, he signs Christian ASAP and THAT’s the guy who beats Suzuki for the ROH Tv title. Absolute legendary run during Mania week Catch up on his work ASAP! Get some merch too! #yearofALLHEART continues on!

Photo Credit: World Wrestling Entertainment

Obviously, what’s the biggest story of the week is: The Rhodeslander has arrived back home in the WWE. Cody Rhodes in fact WAS the mystery opponent for Seth Rollins at Wrestlemania 38. Early reaction is that it couldn’t have gone off better. Rhodes came in exactly as we’ve seen him. He was the Rhodeslander. He was the guy who left WWE and became a star on the indies. There was no Stardust. here was no Smoke and Mirrors. Rhodes came in and really made the most of the moment. Fallout has been fairly positive with only a few toxic tweets from fans. Overall, this will be one of the moments we talk about as fans for a while and Rhodes’ next moves as a member of the WWE roster will be watched very heavily.

Last bit of news: Game Changer Wrestling absolutely tore up Wrestlemania week with the Collective 2022. Order the bundle from Fite TV and trust me, if you’re a pro wrestling fan, there’s something for you to enjoy. Personal favorites were For The Culture, JCW vs LA Fights, The Wrld on Lucha, Effy’s Big Gay Brunch & Joey Janela’s Spring Break 6. Every show really brought it and there’s much to break own on the next 607TWS. It set a high benchmark for showcasing independent pro wrestling! Check it out!

Remember that Super B Brandon Sevilla will be live in studio on April 4th to recap the week that was and talk all things pro wrestling with #607podcasts. Follow now and see everyone on the live stream!

Let me know what pro wrestling you’re checking out & make sure to be following all the 607 podcasts family for all the pro wrestling breakdown you need! As always, thanks for reading!

FTR keeps rolling/WHEELER YUTA/MLW Kings of Colosseum

SUPERCARD OF HONOR/GCW COLLECTIVE/CODY RHODES